This post is all about delicious dill bread, but I have to tell you the back story first. There’s always a back story.
Much to my utter dismay and disbelief, I have discovered that pickles are not big in Ireland. There is no section for pickles at the grocery store. There are not multiple shelves for pickles. There are not countless varieties of pickles: sweet, spicy, dill, stackers, hamburger chips, spears, etc. Nope. None of that delicious excess exists here. How do they survive?
Each of the two grocery stores in my area carries one type of pickle. One single type and it can be found in the section with the Polish food.
The pickles aren’t bad, but they aren’t “drop everything and eat the whole jar” good. Apparently, that’s my standard. When they go low, I go high.
It took me six months, but enough was enough. I decided to make my own pickles. Except you can’t buy pickling cucumbers in Ireland. At least not in January. I’m guessing not ever. My husband tells me to stop being so optimistic. I had to use regular cucumbers instead.
I also couldn’t find pickling spice, so I needed to make my own. It’s easier than you think! Especially when you only use half the ingredients.
I was pretty stoked to find fresh dill though! I got a little carried away when I purchased the dill because I didn’t really know how much I’d need and measuring isn’t really my thing. I’m more of a “wing-it and hope it works” kind of gal, which is why the Food Network is never going to ring me up. I stopped crying over that before I even started.
The homemade pickles turned out fantastic, which is a shame because I’ll never be able to recreate them exactly the same way. When I was done making my spicy dill pickles I had a bunch of leftover dill that I did not want to go to waste. I remembered that a long time ago in a country far, far away I used to bake a dill bread recipe shared by The Pioneer Woman. It was delicious. It was time to bake this great recipe again.
The interesting thing about this dill bread recipe is that it includes a cup of cottage cheese.
Cottage cheese is one of those things that you eat on diets, right?
So this bread is practically diet-approved. You’re welcome.
Here’s what the dough looks like when it rises.
The first thing that I should have done when making this bread was to cover my dough halfway through the baking process.
My oven browns food a little too quickly for my liking. Ovens are quirky, aren’t they?
While my bread would have looked prettier if I would have covered it with foil during the baking process, it was still quite tasty. Thank heavens.
The other thing I shoulda, coulda, woulda done was actually follow the recipe.
I know, I know. Details, details.
The recipe called for dill seed. I didn’t have that ingredient, but I had fresh dill!
Normally, fresh ingredients are always better, but in this case, I think the dill flavor comes through more clearly when using dill seed rather than fresh dill. Just my opinion.
What I do not regret is the next picture.
Butter is life. Say it with me, “butter is life.”
You won’t regret it. Unless your doctor puts the kibosh on butter. Don’t come here for medical advice, folks. I have none. I just bake stuff and eat it. Then I walk five miles.
I served this dill bread for dinner with a salad on the side. See? Totally healthy! My kids loved the bread too, which really surprised me. Sometimes new flavors freak their little tastebuds out in all the wrong ways. I’m happy that didn’t happen this time. Except that meant I had to share. The struggle is real. The struggle is real.
If you want the recipe, find it here. You do want it. You do.
Sounds like we both like bread! Here are more of my favorites…
Dave’s Killer Bread Copycat Recipe